Finding New Pathways to a More Inclusive and Humane Economy

Stéphanie Schmidt

Stéphanie joined Ashoka Africa Leadership team since September 2017, after 13 years with Ashoka on different continents: at the Global Headquarters in the US, Mexico City and Paris. Stephanie is leading the launch of the “Changemaker Company” initiative in Africa to create more bridges between the corporate world and social entrepreneurs and engage businesses in developing their full changemaker potential. Stéphanie is also an international evaluator for the selection of new Ashoka Fellows and a board member of Ashoka Romania. She started her carrier in management consulting with Deloitte in Paris, and Boston, before joining World Relief in Rwanda for 2 years as program director where she supported the launch of Ikirezi, a social enterprise producing essential oils with rural communities led by Ashoka Fellow Nicolas Hitimana. Stephanie was born and raised in France and holds an MBA degree from ESSEC Business School in Paris. She is a mother of 3.

Olivier Fruchaud

Olivier is managing the global partnership between Ashoka and Nestlé, after having launched and led the Ashoka Switzerland office during 7 years.

He loves engaging public and private organizations into innovative alliances with social innovators to tackle main social challenges at scale. He holds a Master in Management from the French Business School EM Lyon (2001). After his studies, Olivier launched the “ecotour venture” in 1999 aimed at identifying innovative environmental best practices and engaging students on sustainable development. In 2004. Olivier also co-created the association "Sustainable Finance Geneva" in 2008 to promote sustainability and responsibility within the Swiss financial community.

After the rise of the technological revolution, social entrepreneurs are now heralding a new revolution. To address societal issues at their roots, they use the codes and tools from the economic world to advance their missions for the common good. Over two decades, they have demonstrated the compatibility between social and economic value creation as well as nimble organizational structures, leading to big change. From the collaborative economy to microfinance, the models they develop often forecast major economic mutations.

Ashoka insight

This win-win partnership approach reflects a completely new way of envisioning social change that has the potential to radically transform industries and to deeply change the way companies approach innovation. At the crossroad between sectors and organizational cultures, these partnerships demonstrate that combining complementary expertise and networks enables social impact at large scale, which no single player could have achieved alone.

Win-win partnerships open the way for a more inclusive and humane economy, where social innovation is also a source of economic performance and gradually infiltrates the DNA of every company. In the world where examples like these anticipate future market changes, everyone, whatever his sector of activity, can become a changemaker for the good of all.